In the contest to build a bullet train in the U.S., a Texas group aims to be the first to market—to zip travelers from Dallas to Houston in 90 minutes as soon as 2021—without a dime in federal or state subsidies.

Texas, which has been zipping past other states when it comes to job creation, is now set for a slowdown as declining oil prices reverberate through the energy-state’s economy, says the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The Wall Street Journal’s Daily Report on Global Central Banks for Monday, January 5, 2015. Jon Hilsenrath considers the challenges facing Janet Yellen in 2015, and finds them less daunting than those that face her eurozone counterpart.